Author: Beng-Huat Chua Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1134809867 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 262
Book Description
The economic success of Singapore has established the country as a model for other nations. Yet until now the ideas behind this accomplishment have not been critically examined. Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore fills this gap. The book outlines the policies the ruling party has adopted over the past three decades. It charts the government's move away from Western concepts towards the evolution of 'Asian democracy'. The author analyses this anti-liberal democracy and the government's motives for repackaging cultural heritage into a national ideology of Asian communitarianism. This book avoids the polarization that has tended to characterise texts on Asian governments. It neither concentrates on a history of authoritarian repression nor unequivocally praises the regime but critically examines its political success. As such it provides a new and balanced account to the student of Singapore politics.
Author: Beng Huat Chua Publisher: Cornell University Press ISBN: 1501713450 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 228
Book Description
In Liberalism Disavowed, Beng Huat Chua examines the rejection of Western-style liberalism in Singapore since the nation’s expulsion from Malaysia and formal independence as a republic in 1965. The People’s Action Party, which has ruled Singapore since 1959, has forged an independent non-Western ideology that is evident in various government policies that Chua analyzes, among them multiracialism, public housing, and widespread social distributions to the citizenry. Singapore is prosperous and peaceful, it’s highly advanced on various metrics of economic development, it has a great deal of regional influence, it is home to sophisticated industries and a large financial service sector, and it features what are by Western standards unusually low levels of social inequality. Paradoxically, however, it is no beacon of political liberalism. Chua sets forth ample evidence that the dominance of the People’s Action Party is based on a combination of economic success and media control, limits on public protests, libel suits against political opponents, and severely curtailed civil liberties.
Author: Beng-Huat Chua Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1134809875 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 250
Book Description
The economic success of Singapore has established the country as a model for other nations. Yet until now the ideas behind this accomplishment have not been critically examined. Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore fills this gap. The book outlines the policies the ruling party has adopted over the past three decades. It charts the government's move away from Western concepts towards the evolution of 'Asian democracy'. The author analyses this anti-liberal democracy and the government's motives for repackaging cultural heritage into a national ideology of Asian communitarianism. This book avoids the polarization that has tended to characterise texts on Asian governments. It neither concentrates on a history of authoritarian repression nor unequivocally praises the regime but critically examines its political success. As such it provides a new and balanced account to the student of Singapore politics.
Author: Beng Huat Chua Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1134312792 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 345
Book Description
With the collapse of European socialism in the late 1980s, ascendancy of the liberal capitalist democracy and individual self-interest became prevalent in the West. In contrast, many polities in Asia, both by tradition and choice, have explicitly adopted communitarianism as a national ideology, for example Confucianism in Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, Islam in Malaysia and the Panca Sila in Indonesia. Here, communitarianism arguably informs public policies and political practices and the concept of the 'social' in terms of responsibilities and collective welfare is preserved. Communitarian Politics in Asia examines instances in southeast and east Asian countries where communitarianism is both articulated as national ideology and embedded as the ethos of social life and assesses the relative merits of a set of practices in their respective local political context. The book not only augments existing international debate on liberalism and communitarianism but also provides empirical examples of communitarian political practices that will substantiate and/or refute conceptual points, such as redistributive justice and costs to individuals, in this ongoing debate.
Author: Youyenn Teo Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1136671226 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 214
Book Description
Using the case study of Singapore, this book examines the production of a set of institutionalized relationships and ethical meanings that link citizens to each other and the state. It looks at how questions of culture and morality are resolved, and how state-society relations are established that render paradoxes and inequalities acceptable, and form the basis of a national political culture. The Singapore government has put in place a number of policies to encourage marriage and boost fertility that has attracted much attention, and are often taken as evidence that the Singapore state is a social engineer. The book argues that these policies have largely failed to reverse demographic trends, and reveals that the effects of the policies are far more interesting and significant. As Singaporeans negotiate various rules and regulations, they form a set of ties to each other and to the state. These institutionalized relationships and shared meanings, referred to as neoliberal morality, render particular ideals about family natural. Based on extensive field work, the book is a useful contribution to studies on Asian Culture and Society, Globalisation, as well as Development Studies.
Author: Michael Haas Publisher: Praeger ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 224
Book Description
This text examines why Singapore's democratic practices have declined as its prosperity has increased. It explores both sides, for and against Singapore's government, and suggests reasons for the situation.
Author: Pieter de Wilde Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 110865911X Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 289
Book Description
Citizens, parties, and movements are increasingly contesting issues connected to globalization, such as whether to welcome immigrants, promote free trade, and support international integration. The resulting political fault line, precipitated by a deepening rift between elites and mass publics, has created space for the rise of populism. Responding to these issues and debates, this book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of how economic, cultural and political globalization have transformed democratic politics. This study offers a fresh perspective on the rise of populism based on analyses of public and elite opinion and party politics, as well as mass media debates on climate change, human rights, migration, regional integration, and trade in the USA, Germany, Poland, Turkey, and Mexico. Furthermore, it considers similar conflicts taking place within the European Union and the United Nations. Appealing to political scientists, sociologists and international relations scholars, this book is also an accessible introduction to these debates for undergraduate and masters students.
Author: Carol Soon Publisher: World Scientific ISBN: 1786342480 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 340
Book Description
Set within the context of growing political pluralism and the increasing use of new communication technologies for social mobilisation, the Institute of Policy Studies organised a national conference on civil society in November 2013. This collection of the essays that were presented at or inspired by the conference provides nuanced analyses of the development of the sector in Singapore since the Institute's first such conference held in 1998. The first section of the book discusses the different philosophies and approaches that underpin how civic activists engage with the State; the second section examines some key forces of change that are re-shaping the sector; and, the third section sets out some emerging issues facing it. Combining insights from experts and civic activists themselves, this book proposes an agenda for the future development of the civil society in Singapore.